Shadow of Sins Past
by happycabbage75
Summary: Hook tries to handle a problem from the old days on his own. Set post Jolly Roger.
1. Chapter 1

**Shadow of Sins Past**

Summary: Hook tries to handle a problem from the old days on his own. Set post _Jolly Roger_.

Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.

 _So, season five is… umm… yeah. Like we don't all know. *insert random CS feels and sobbing here* I'm sooo leaving all of that to the professionals. This is therefore set in season three, back when Killian's lips are cursed, he's miserable, avoiding his lady love, sorta, and Emma's still giving him the stink eye, sorta. A puff piece, with a little adventure thrown in…_

Chapter One

* * *

Emma set her fork down and sighed. For the past several minutes, Hook had been standing across the street from Granny's, leaning against a lamppost. She didn't know what he was up to, but it was irritating her to the point that she couldn't enjoy her lunch. Life in Storybrooke was weird enough without pirates loitering on every corner, especially pirates who'd been acting strange, and who normally would have already come inside to pester her.

"Are you gonna check on him or am I?" David asked.

Emma spared a short glare for her father before her gaze returned to Hook.

"What were you two arguing about this time?"

Emma frowned. "What makes you think we were fighting?"

David began to count off the reasons on his fingers. "One, you're both stubborn. Two, if you two are talking, you're arguing. Three, he's standing out there looking like a kicked puppy."

She pursed her lips, irritated that she was so predictable, especially where Hook was concerned. "Think you're pretty smart, don't you?"

"Let's just say, neither of you are good at being subtle."

"Fine." Emma narrowed her eyes as she glanced back at Hook. "He's hiding something." She drummed her fingers on the table. "He keeps disappearing and he won't tell me why."

Her father grunted and returned to his lunch which set off all of her alarms. For two such different people as a pirate and a prince, two men who seemed to enjoy hitting each other, the two were often thick as thieves.

"Do you know something about it?" she asked, her tone clipped.

"We've got enough to worry about with Zelena. He said it was something from the old days that he needed to take care of and that he could handle it by himself."

Emma frowned. "That's all you know?"

David shrugged, but she could see he was irritated too. "I only know that much because I caught him skulking outside near Red's place yesterday."

"Ruby?" she asked, astonished. "What else did he say?"

David put his fork down and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "You're not going to let this go are you?"

"Are _you_?"

"I was going to give him 'til tonight before I got in his face." He shrugged again. "I doubted it would be necessary though. For a pirate, he's not much on keeping secrets these days."

"Well, I'm not waiting any longer." Emma scooted out of the booth and headed for the door, glancing back just long enough to see that her father was following.

Emma walked across the wide street, her eyes on Hook as she came closer. He was leaning nonchalantly against the lamppost, one ankle crossed over the other, his hook at his side, and his hand resting on his belt buckle. He was the picture of ease, almost sleepy-eyed as she approached.

"Afternoon, Swan."

"Are you posing, or is there some other reason you're just standing out here?"

A smirk crossed his lips. "If you've need of a portrait, love, you need only ask. I'll admit I make a handsome addition to any tableau."

Emma simply raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"I'm always serious, love. I can't help it if people choose to doubt my sincerity."

"It's probably because you spend most of your time spewing either nonsense or insults," David shot back.

Hook pursed his lips. "I also can't help it if people don't recognize wisdom when they hear it."

"Wisdom?" David shook his head in disbelief. "You spent five minutes yesterday discussing the evils of Granny's fried pies."

Hook looked genuinely affronted. "I'll have you know, I once stopped a mutiny of half my thieving crew by plying them with the best custard tarts in the realm. Granted, I may or may not have laced them with something to keep the swine occupied for several days, but those… _things_ you offered me last evening were a mockery."

Emma was watching Hook and noticed that he had yet to move. He was also paler than normal. He should have been waving his arms around as he expostulated, pointing his hook in David's direction, glaring as Granny's… doing _something_. She glanced down and to her shock saw several drops of blood fall from the edge of his leather coat and land on the sidewalk.

"You're hurt," she said, stepping closer. "What happened?"

Hook grimaced. "Old business, love."

She thought he'd hooked a thumb in his belt simply to rest his hand there, but now she saw him press his arm more closely to his side.

"Not good enough," she shot back. "What happened? David said he caught you out skulking last night."

Hook glared at David, but it didn't last. He was starting to lean forward, curling against the pain. "I was not skulking," he bit out. "I was keeping watch. There is a vast difference."

"Why were you watching? _Who_ were you watching?"

Killian leaned more heavily against the lamppost. "Sorry, love. I… was on the way to… the physick, but…"

"We call them doctors," David muttered.

"But you weren't going to make it and stopped to enjoy the view from the lamppost." Emma finally bridged the gap between them. She'd been careful to keep her distance since having her memories returned, not that it had been too difficult. With Walsh and her fake memories and, well, everything, thinking about Hook was… complicated.

Emma pushed his leather coat aside and saw that there was a jagged hole in his vest, blood seeping downward at an alarming rate.

He looked down and gritted his teeth. "If he ruined my waistcoat…"

"You'll what?" she snapped. "Bleed on him?"

David took that as his cue to step in. "We should get him to the hospital. I'll call Whale and tell him we're coming."

"Who did this?" She pressed her hand against his injured side and Hook groaned, paling even further.

"Swan," he said breathlessly, "Marcus… Don't let him…"

He pitched forward and Emma suddenly had an armful of unconscious pirate. He was heavier than he looked and Emma would have teased him that part of it was he was wearing nearly an entire cow's worth of leather, but Hook wasn't conscious to be offended by it.

David hurried forward and between the two of them they laid him on the sidewalk. "I'll call for an ambulance," her father said and rose.

Emma remained kneeling at Hook's side, keeping firm pressure on his wound. "What kind of mess have you got yourself in now?" she wondered out loud.

* * *

 _Just a little something to start us off. More soon…_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

* * *

Emma paced nervously back and forth. It had been over two hours since the staff had pulled Hook from the back of the ambulance and disappeared with him. She'd never been good at patience or waiting, so she'd resorted to pacing.

While they waited on news of Hook's condition, she and her father had made call after call, trying to find out what had happened, and who this Marcus was. Storybrooke was a small town and everyone seemed to know everyone else, but neither she nor David knew of anyone named Marcus and since no one had called her about a fight between Hook and another man, she didn't have a witness, or a location to start with. Before following the ambulance, they'd done a quick driveby of Ruby's neighborhood, but there'd been no signs of a fight.

"Will you sit for a while?" David asked tiredly. "You're making _me_ nervous, and I don't even like the guy that much."

Emma pursed her lips, but nodded and walked back to where her father was sitting in the waiting area. She dropped down into the seat beside him and crossed her arms, drumming her fingers. Her father rested his arm across the back of her chair, giving her shoulder a pat but otherwise not quite touching her. She had no doubt he wanted to put his arm around her to comfort her. He was that kind of guy, but while she was better around her parents than she had been, she wasn't feeling it at the moment and was putting off every don't-touch-me signal she owned.

Thankfully, she only had to deal with awkwardness from one parent. David had called Mary-Margaret and let her know what was happening. She had wanted to come to the hospital, but they'd convinced her that someone had to keep Henry occupied until they knew what was going on.

This mess was exactly why Emma needed to leave this town and go back to New York. Henry didn't know about any of this, and she was beginning to think that he never should. Their life in New York had been so much simpler - work for her, school for him, a movie on the weekends, and on and on. Just… life. With the exception of one lying, scheming, flying monkey, it had been _good_. There were no Wicked Witches or curses, or mysteriously stabbed pirates. Once they took care of Zelena, she and Henry could go back to that normal life.

Dr. Whale finally appeared and Emma jumped back to her feet. She didn't wait for him to cross the room, but marched toward him.

"How is he?"

"Not good," Whale said, and not for the first time, Emma thought the guy had a lousy bedside manner. "I think whatever he was stabbed with had a serrated edge. It's done more damage than a normal blade, and trust me, I know about hack jobs."

"Can we do this without the creepy commentary?" Emma demanded, her temper getting shorter by the second.

"Fine," Whale replied, looking nonplussed. "We've got him patched up, but that's not the real problem."

"What is it?" David asked.

"I think he's been poisoned." The doctor paused to allow that little tidbit to sink in.

"Great." David hung his head and let out a long sigh.

For her part, Emma couldn't even manage that much. It was as if she were frozen in place. Of course, it couldn't just be a simple stab wound, because this was Storybrooke and life here was one unending tale of disaster after disaster.

"Dreamshade?" she asked, barely more than a whisper. This was Hook after all and if this was something from the old days then Neverland was a distinct possibility.

"I'm not seeing the same symptoms you described," Whale replied. Mary-Margaret had made David get checked out even after Gold had given him the permanent cure for his dreamshade poisoning. Emma hadn't blamed her either, knowing Gold.

"The flesh around the stab wound was necrotic. We've cut away the affected tissue, but if it's gotten into his blood stream, then he's in real trouble. There might be something else as well, maybe magic, but…" Whale looked from one of them to the other. "First, I need to know what the poison is and fast. We're trying some things, but if we knew we could do more."

"Can I see him?" Emma asked. She didn't question why she had a sudden overwhelming desire to be with him. She just knew it was the truth.

"Yes." Whale motioned for her to follow. "We've put him in a different area in case his attacker might show up and try to finish the job."

"I'll call Snow," David said, "and tell her what's going on." His expression, however, said he was giving her some time to herself.

Emma followed Whale, who led her to a smaller windowless room instead of to the usual wide, brightly lit area where the patients were sent. It filled Emma with a not-so-fond sense of déjà vu. Hook had been put in the same room where they'd hidden him after he'd shot Belle and been hit by a car. Once again, they were hiding him for his own safety.

"I'll give you a minute," Whale said. "But, remember, we need to know the poison."

"We'll get it," she said through clenched teeth.

Whale nodded and walked back down the corridor, leaving Emma with no choice but to enter the room.

Inside, the scene was very like the time before and yet completely different. The first time, she'd been checking on a perp who'd just shot someone and had information she needed. He'd been injured, but nothing permanent. The greater danger had been Gold finding him and killing him on the spot.

This time, he was bare from the waist up, bandages covering his side and it seemed he was attached to every machine the hospital could produce. He was pale as a ghost, with blotches of orange coloring his skin from the betadine wash, and for one nearly hysterical moment all Emma could think was that it was really going to hurt when they pulled all those sensors off his chest.

His clothing had been stuffed in a bag which had been tossed into a corner of the room. His hook had been removed, of course, but it was his other hand that caught her attention. All of his rings had been removed and for some reason that bothered her more than anything else.

Emma forced herself to step closer to the bed. One thing was exactly like last time. She needed information and she needed it now. The closer she got to him, however, the more ill he looked. He wasn't even enjoying a peaceful sleep. His muscles were pulled a little too tight, as if even unconscious, he knew how much pain he was in.

"Hook?" she tried. When there was no response, Emma looked down and grasped his ringless hand. As had happened before, she was surprised by how rough and calloused the skin was. Hook was so handsome, that she often forgot that he'd spent centuries sailing a ship, working with ropes, sail and tackle, not to mention a sword, and the work most men shared between two hands, Hook had done with one. He was no soft-skinned office worker like Walsh had pretended to be. "Hook? Can you hear me?"

As if pulling himself from the depths, Hook's eyes fluttered and then he forced them open by sheer will. "Swan?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Hook, we need to know the poison that was on the knife," she demanded without preamble. She couldn't guarantee how long he would be conscious and needed that information the most.

He frowned, his face scrunching up. "Hmm?"

"The poison. Whoever did this put poison on the blade. Do you know what it was?"

"Bloody hell," he slurred. "Should've known."

Hook tried to raise the hand she was still holding and seemed perplexed when it didn't work. He was fading and Emma leaned over the bed. "Do you know what it was, or where the weapon is so we can get it to Whale to test it?"

"Marcus," he said answered sleepily. "Have to… stop him."

"Do you know where he is?"

Hook's eyes closed and Emma wanted to scream in frustration, but suddenly the machines did that for her. She looked up to see all of the red, then back down to see that all of Hook's muscles were drawn tight as a bow string and he was jerking slightly.

Whale and a pair of nurses rushed into the room. "Leave," he ordered without ceremony. "Go find what I need."

Emma nodded and with one last look at Hook, his head thrown back as his muscles contracted with the seizure, Emma turned and marched from the room. Her father looked up in surprise as she walked back into the waiting room.

"How is he?" David asked.

"Dying. We need to know the poison _now_."

"I finally got a call back. One of the Dwarfs says he knows of a Lost Boy named Marcus. Says he's one of the older ones, quiet, keeps to himself."

"Well, he's getting company today," Emma said, and led the way back out of the hospital.

* * *

Emma banged on the apartment door with her fist. They were older, shabbier apartments and the door rattled with the impact. "Sherriff's Department. Open the door!"

David stood around the corner, one hand on his gun so that he could watch the rear exit to the apartment in case the guy made a run for it.

Emma pounded on the door again. "Sherriff's Department," she shouted once more, but there was still no response.

David walked closer. "There are blood drops outside the back door. He could be dead in there for all we know."

"Guess we'd better check then." She knew her smile was less than pleasant. Emma tried the handle and was unsurprised to find it was locked.

"Allow me." Her father backed up to the door, then mule kicked it open. It cracked the cheap wooden surround and the door popped open.

They both drew their guns and entered the apartment, but as soon as they'd entered, Emma knew it was empty. It was a small apartment: a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom. She could see almost all of it from the front door. To say the apartment's furnishings were Spartan was an understatement. There were no furnishings. The living room was empty and she could see a couple of blankets on the floor in the bedroom. Nevertheless, she kept her gun drawn until they were sure.

"Looks like he had to clean up a wound in the bathroom," David said. "Hook must've got him pretty good."

Emma nodded. It made sense. Hook was never one to shy away from a fight, and he had an attached weapon built to make ugly wounds.

She carefully studied the main room and her eye was drawn to the kitchen counter. There were several purple flowers which were beginning to whither. The roots of the flower had been cut off, and then crushed in a bowl with a stick, used as a makeshift mortar and pestle to grind the plant into a paste. Emma pulled out her phone and took several pictures which she sent to Whale. Hopefully, he could identify the flower from them, and thus the poison.

"You said you caught Hook outside Ruby's place, right?"

David nodded. "He was standing in an alley, just sort of… waiting."

"And he didn't tell you anything else."

"I should've kicked the information out of him then," her father groused. "Should've known it was more serious than he was letting on." He looked around the kitchen and finally settled for a discarded plastic grocery bag. He carefully put the entire bowl containing the paste as well as the rest of the flowers into the bag. "We should take this to Whale. Maybe it will help."

"Go ahead. I'm going to talk to the people in the other apartments. I can walk back to the hospital."

"You sure?" Her father gave her an odd look and she had a feeling he was expecting her to want to check on Hook, which was true. She could admit that much. She had to figure out what had happened, however, and sitting with Hook wouldn't get that done.

While her Father headed out, Emma closed the broken door as best she could and then turned toward the closest apartment. It was a small two story row of apartments. Marcus' place was on the end, on the ground floor, so Emma just headed for the next one over.

As she raised her hand to knock, the door opened. Two mop-topped boys who looked to be about ten years old appeared, the first was fair-haired, the second was dark-headed, both with innocent expressions on their faces. Emma glanced past them to see a happily cluttered living room that looked more like a campsite than anything else. She knew some of the Lost Boys had chosen to stick together. They'd simply spent too long as a makeshift family to split up.

"Why are you looking for Marcus?" the first boy asked.

"What's he done now?" the second one added.

It was the "now" that caught her attention. "He get in trouble a lot?"

A conspiratorial look passed between the two. "Maybe." Boy Two shrugged. "Why do you want to know?"

"He got in a fight with Hook. He poisoned him." Once again a knowing look passed between them. "They have a history?" she asked.

One rolled his eyes as if to say, 'duh,' while Two hmphed and said, "You could say that."

"What happened?"

Two quickly pushed One back inside the apartment. "Not our business anymore. Ask Hook." For a moment, a look of genuine fear crossed his face before he hid it. It was an unpleasant thing to see someone so seemingly young able to hide his feelings, but it was a reminder of everything the boys had been through. The kid definitely thought Marcus was capable of retaliation if he found out someone had squealed.

"Hook's unconscious. I can't ask him."

"I'm sorry," the boy said and meant it. He glanced past her as if afraid Marcus might appear at any moment.

Emma turned her phone to the child. "Do you know this flower?" she asked. The Lost Boys knew far more about flora and fauna than she did. Their survival had depended on it.

The kid didn't brush her off as she feared he might. "It's not from Neverland," he said. He paused as if considering his words. "Just… be careful, Emma. Marcus had to get his own apartment for a reason." His eyes rose to meet hers. "I hope the Captain's okay."

"Me, too."

* * *

 _More soon…_


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you very much for the kind encouragement. When last we met, Hook was down, and Emma was trying to hunt up details on Marcus, with little success. So… on we go…_

Chapter Three

* * *

Emma arrived back at the hospital even more frustrated than when she'd left. No one else in the neighborhood knew anything. Most had no idea who she was even talking about. She'd also spoken to Ruby who had no clue why Marcus was interested in her, or why Hook was watching out for her. Nevertheless, she'd been given a head's up about Marcus. Other than that, Emma felt like she'd wasted hours of precious time and gained almost nothing in return.

As Emma approached Hook's hospital room, she heard shouting and put on a burst of speed. It was David's voice, but she slowed again when she realized the other was Hook's.

"Stop talking to me like I'm a child, mate. I'm old enough to be your great, great, however many times grandfather."

Emma hated to admit how good it felt to hear his voice, even if he did sound weak and exhausted despite his anger.

"Oh, good," her father responded. "Remind me that I'm letting my daughter anywhere near a cradle robbing pirate."

"One," Emma could almost hear Hook grinding his teeth, "you don't _let_ Emma do anything. She's her own woman, thank goodness, and two, you've been her father for… how long? _I've_ known her nearly as long as _you_ have."

"I've _always_ been her father. She knows that," David shot back angrily.

"How does that work, mate? You're almost the same age. Although as I understand it, your wife is older. I'm told you slept through most of the first curse, while she was living the life of a lonely schoolmarm. That makes you married to an older woman, _Dave_."

"I have no problem hitting someone bedridden."

"Ok," Emma said, making the decision to quit eavesdropping. She stepped into the room to see her father, hands on his hips, looming over Hook. "You guys want to tell me what's going on before a fist fight breaks out?"

Both men looked up guiltily and then away. Hook actually sank back into the bed, visibly deflating, and she could see how much it had taken out of him to spar with her father.

"You okay?" she asked, not liking how anxious she sounded.

"Right as rain, love," Hook replied, but his words were slurred as the adrenaline waned. There was no need for her truth detection skills. He was lying through his teeth.

"Whale says he's been treating the effects of the poison pretty successfully. That flower was a variety of aconite, pretty common apparently and poisonous."

"Aconite?"

"Monkshood, wolfsbane… Lots of names for it."

"There an antidote?" she asked.

"Not as such. Just treating the symptoms until they pass and trying to prevent any permanent damage."

"And the wound?"

Her father grimaced. "Whale put a call in to Regina. He thinks there's some magic that's keeping it from beginning to heal."

Emma nodded, freshly worried. She couldn't feel anything magical, but then again her fledgling skills were as likely to hurt Hook as help him, even if she could figure out what was wrong.

She took a steadying breath. "Ok, so why were you yelling at a guy who's been poisoned?"

"Ask him." David pointed at Hook, righteously indignant.

"He's out again." And it was true. In just those few seconds since she'd arrived, she'd watched his eyes flutter, close and then his whole body had relaxed into sleep. She preferred to call it that rather than unconscious.

David sighed. "He was baiting me to get me to stop asking questions."

"Worked, didn't it?"

He shook his head in chagrin. "Yeah." David ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I asked why he was after Marcus and he told me he deserved to be keelhauled and to leave it at that."

"Still wouldn't say why?" David shook his head. "One of the Lost Boys said they've got a history."

"Obviously." He snorted.

"Wouldn't say what it was though. Only for me to be careful."

David frowned in thought. "As in you specifically or everybody?"

"Not sure. Why?"

David put his hands on his hips and turned back to look at Hook who was still out. "Just an idea…"

"What?"

"When Hook was a pirate, there were only a few things he cared about."

Emma just raised an eyebrow and waited.

"Other than his revenge, he cared about his ship, rum and women."

She kept her expression entirely blank. She knew Hook had a long history with women, but she didn't like to think about it or be reminded.

"If he was keeping an eye out for Red, then… I'm thinking their history wasn't over his ship or his liquor stores."

Her father's cell phone beeped and he pulled it out. "Your mother wants an update." He smiled fondly. "She's not happy being out of the action."

"Go home," Emma said. "I'll stay here."

David looked from her to Hook then back again. "You sure?"

She nodded. "Ruby's been warned about Marcus and she can take care of herself. Hook's the defenseless one for the time being and I can get him to talk when he wakes up."

"How? He wouldn't tell me anything."

Emma gave him a knowing smile. "I have my ways."

"Why am I not reassured?" he asked, grimacing.

Emma laughed and nudged him toward the door. "Go home. It's getting late. Tell Henry I'll see him in the morning."

"Fine." David sighed, shot one last glare at Hook and then left after giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

* * *

Emma awoke with a start. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told her she'd dozed off a mere ten minutes earlier, but she wasn't sure what had awakened her. A quick look around, however, told her what it was. Of all things, Mr. Smee was sitting in the corner with a needle and thread, sewing the tear in Hook's vest, or waistcoat as he preferred to call it.

Smee looked up when he saw she was awake. The rest of Hook's clothes were sitting beside Mr. Smee, folded and freshly laundered. "Cap'n likes his things just so," he said quietly. He cast a quick glance in Hook's direction afraid he might have awakened him. "I heard about what happened and thought I'd better see to him."

It made Emma shake her head. Not for the first time, she wondered at Hook's life as a pirate. His men seemed to hold him in equal parts fear and fondness.

Smee finished sewing the vest and very carefully folded the garment before setting it atop the rest of Hook's clothing. Emma had never imagined a pirate being quite so… tidy, nearly fastidious, but their time in Neverland had informed her that Hook's ship was… whatever the Enchanted Forest's version of "shipshape and Bristol fashion" was. She had a feeling he loved his ship nearly as much as he'd loved Milah… which made her wonder where the _Jolly Roger_ was now. It hadn't come back with everyone else.

Emma glanced up at the monitor above Hook's head which gave a constant read out of his oxygen levels, his respirations, his temp, his pulse and his blood pressure. Emma couldn't help worry with every single tick up or down. Hook, however, continued to sleep through all of it, which didn't reassure her either.

Emma jumped when Hook's IV began beeping to alert the nurse it required attention. In only a few moments, the woman bustled in carrying another bag of some fluid or drug to replace the now empty one. Emma wasn't sure what it was they were doing and they didn't explain. The nurses had been watching him closely and changing out his IVs frequently. Every so often they would draw labs and she supposed alter what they were giving him depending on the results.

"I have every intention of destroying that bloody machine," Hook grumbled.

Emma stood and hurried to the side of the bed. She'd given up the right to act nonchalant once she'd planted herself at Hook's beside and dared anyone to ask her to leave.

"How is a man to rest with that infernal noise in his ear?"

Emma leaned closer, studying his face. He looked haggard and ill, but at least his fighting spirit was intact. "You must be feeling better," she said. "You're well enough to whine."

Hook blinked, his eyes taking a little longer to focus on her than normal. "Compassionate as always, Swan." He raised an eyebrow. "Although you haven't threatened to harm me yet. A definite improvement, that."

Emma frowned. "You seem to manage to hurt yourself well enough without my help." She might want to throttle Hook, but it would have to wait. For now, she would settle for a few questions.

The nurse finished changing the IV and turned toward Hook. She pushed the sheet down to look at the dressing on his stab wound. She nodded when she saw the dressing was soaked through as if she'd expected it, and Emma remembered that something was keeping it from beginning to heal.

"I'll need to change this. Do you want to step outside, Miss Swan?"

Emma took one look at Hook's strained expression and came to a quick decision. "Go ahead. I need to ask some questions while he's awake." She could also distract him while the woman worked. The nurse just nodded and began gathering supplies from a nearby cabinet.

"So…" Emma sat down on the bed at Hook's hip, mindful not to jostle him. She ignored what the nurse was doing on the other side and kept her eyes on his face. "No more evasions, Hook. Tell me what's going on."

"I should imagine that's quite obvious." He gritted his teeth as Emma heard the dressing being peeled away. "Nurse Linda is yet again trying to flay me alive. She has assured me it is for my benefit, but I'm beginning to think it's punishment for my many sins."

"Why are you being this difficult?" she demanded.

"That is also quite obvious, Swan. _I_ _don't want to tell you_."

"Why not?"

He looked straight at her, embarrassment, anger, and something else, maybe shame, mixing in his expression. "Because it is a sordid affair, and I want you well away from it." His eyes begged her to drop it.

"I'm not going to leave this alone," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm the Sherriff, Hook. I can't."

He suddenly looked even more tired, just… weary, world weary. He shook his head. He couldn't get out of this conversation and he knew it. "Marcus and I… have a standing… difference of opinion."

"About what? His bed time? His curfew on weekends?" It was an exaggeration, she knew. David had nearly died after a fight with the Lost Boys. Still… they were kids living in fear of Pan, either forced or brainwashed into doing what he wanted.

Hook gave her a disapproving glance. "Like father like daughter. Just because they look like boys does not mean they are children." He closed his eyes abruptly, his abdominal muscles tensing against the nurse's ministrations. "Some of those _boys_ are as old as I am, love, and just as deadly. Do not presume that their angelic faces and delicate curls mean they are now harmless."

"Obviously," she said. "Pan's buddy Felix made that very clear." Nevertheless, she knew she was guilty of exactly what he was saying. They just looked so… cute, and young. It was hard not to talk to them like she was talking to little kids.

"Felix was dedicated to Pan's service. Most of the others, however, felt no such loyalty. Over the years, I found that some served him in order to indulge certain… proclivities. They were warped, either by their earlier lives or by the things Pan demanded of them."

"That's great," Emma said in frustration. "What does that have to do with Marcus and why you were watching Ruby's place?"

Killian's eyes sprang open and focused on her, bright blue, alarmed and headed toward panicked. "Why would I be watching the She-Wolf? She could tear anyone to pieces who crossed her."

Emma's brow furrowed, fear sending a shot of adrenaline straight to her heart. "You weren't watching Ruby?"

"Your father said it was taken care of, that _she_ was safe."

"He… we thought you were watching…"

"Bloody hell." Hook had gone from panicked to angry in no time flat. He turned toward the nurse, already pulling the nasal canula from his face. "Get these bloody machines off me. We have to leave, _now_."

* * *

 _Ye olde cliffhanger… More soon…_


	4. Chapter 4

_So… Hook has some explaining to do…_

* * *

Chapter Four

Hook braced himself on the hospital bed to sit up straight and immediately began swearing. Without his hook, his left arm was shorter than he expected and he listed to one side. That pulled at his injury and for a moment, Emma thought he was going to pass out again.

He fought it back, however. He opened his eyes and began pulling at the sensors attached to his chest. They were stuck on tight and he ripped the first one off angrily, leaving a red welt behind. The machines behind him began to beep in warning, but he ignored it.

When he reached for a second sensor to rip it off, Emma quickly placed her hand over his. "Hook, stop. There's no way you're leaving here." His skin was hot to the touch, feverish, and Emma was suddenly very aware that she had her hand over Hook's heart. Against her will, she felt her cheeks turn pink.

Hook appeared startled, then pleased that she had reached out to him. His eyes traveled from her hand up to her face. For a moment, his gaze settled on her lips and then it was like night and day. He completely shut down whatever he'd been thinking. He shook off her hand and his expression hardened.

He looked at her, no amusement at all in evidence, or an attempt to cajole her. "Do you know who he's after?"

"No," she said angrily. "So tell me and-"

Hook quickly cut her off, pulling the remaining sensors off his chest. "I don't know her name, only by sight. I caught Marcus following the lass, and I'll be damned if I let him near her."

"I should get Dr. Whale," the nurse said worriedly.

"Don't bother," Hook said. "The wound…" He shook his head. "I can feel it. It's magic as much as the poison and your physician, excellent as he may be, can do nothing for it."

Hook pulled the IV from his arm, his trembling fingers struggling with the sticky dressing, tearing at his skin as he ripped it free. He grasped the sheet and then abruptly stopped. "Swan, while I do enjoy making you blush, you may want to step outside. The lovely Nurse Linda, here, has seen all that nature has blessed me with. I fear you are not yet ready for so much pulchritude."

"Good call," Emma quickly said, deciding a hasty retreat was in order. "I have no intention of staying for the floor show." She'd look up the word pulchritude later. She turned and grabbed a startled Smee by the arm and pulled him from the room.

"I should really help the cap'n dress," Smee protested.

"In a minute," Emma snapped. She already had her phone out and began texting David. She needed him back on the double with a car. Hook certainly wasn't going to be able to walk. If nothing else, she could get him to identify who the intended victim was, then she could knock him out and leave him in the car while she and David took care of Marcus.

"What happened between Hook and this kid?" Emma demanded. "I need to know."

"Cap'n won't like me telling tales," Smee replied, already taking a step back.

Emma grabbed his arm again to keep him where he was. "Your captain is in danger and he's going to get himself killed. You can protect him by telling me what's going on."

"I…" He was practically quivering with his need to leave, his eyes darting this way and that.

"Now, Mr. Smee. I don't have time for this!"

"There… was an incident," he said, deflating.

"What kind of incident?"

"I… I'm not sure exactly."

"Why not?"

"When the rest of the crew went into town, I was often left behind to watch the ship."

"Into town?"

"The price for remaining in Neverland was that we had to stay in Pan's good graces. He would send us on supply runs, or sometimes to other realms to find something specific. When we made land, the crew took the opportunity to enjoy themselves."

"Ok."

Smee once again shifted on his feet in discomfort. "Pan sent Marcus with us on a supply run. We were in port and the crew had gone to the tavern. In the middle of the night, Captain comes back in one of the blackest tempers I've ever seen. Two of the crew were hauling Marcus who looked like he'd been beaten within an inch of his life. Captain had Marcus thrown in the brig. He stayed there all the way back to Neverland, no food or water. We delivered him back to Pan in irons and the Captain refused to ever deal with Marcus again or let him leave the island on the _Jolly Roger_."

"You ever find out what he did?"

"There are only so many rules on the ship. Anything is fair game as long as you're strong enough to take it, but the Captain's word is law and there are certain exceptions. Women, children… Only thing the crew ever said was Marcus was a fool to treat a woman that way where the Captain would hear of it." Mr. Smee shivered. "I've seen him run more than one man through for mistreating a woman. The only reason Marcus lived was because the Captain couldn't kill him without crossing Pan."

Emma let all of that sink in, trying to read between the lines. Hook and his men had gone drinking and whoring while temporarily free from Neverland, but Marcus had crossed the line somehow and Hook had nearly killed him for it. Not exactly a story meant to make a good impression.

"Smee!" Hook barked from inside the hospital room, making the man jump. "Stop telling tales and get your sorry carcass in here!"

Smee gave her a polite nod and then scurried into the room. As soon as he entered, Nurse Linda bolted through the door, her cheeks a bright red and Emma could only imagine what Hook had said to her to cause such a reaction. Not everyone was as immune as she was to his overt... she would be generous and call it charm instead of blatant sexual harassment. It was a good thing the guy had a nefarious career to fall back on, because he'd never make it in corporate America for sure.

"Swan, stop standing there and locate a suitable means of transport!" Hook bellowed, and Emma had a feeling it was close to the tone he'd used when giving orders on his ship. She opened her mouth to tell him where to stick those orders, then closed it again and marched toward the front of the hospital. She did need a car. David had just texted that he'd left the car for her and walked back to the loft. He was going to meet them a block or two from Ruby's.

Emma picked up the car and pulled it in front of the hospital just as Hook pushed his way through the glass doors. He was holding onto the door and Emma had to guess he needed it to remain standing. Smee was hovering behind him, his hands outstretched as if to catch him if he fell.

More startling was that Hook was without his leather coat. She'd rarely seen him without it, perhaps a few times when they were in Neverland when he'd taken it off to use as a blanket or to cover the ground before sitting or lying on it. He wore only his leather pants, a long-sleeved, black linen shirt and his waistcoat. His hook was back in place, but he must've truly been in a hurry because he hadn't even taken the time to strap his sword back on. He was carrying it in his hand.

She saw Hook set his jaw in determination. He let go of the door, and began a single-minded march toward the car. Emma shook her head at the sight, freshly worried that taking him out of the hospital was one of the worst ideas ever. From Hook's reaction, though, not stopping Marcus was worse.

Hook pulled the door open and practically fell into the car, waving Smee away. "Move, Swan. There's little time, if I had to guess." He looked at the sky to judge the time. It was a bit past dusk.

"You're not wearing your coat," she said as she put the car in drive.

"It…" He gritted his teeth. "It was too heavy."

Emma frowned. She knew the coat was leather and weighed a ton, but for him not to be able to wear something he was so accustomed to was another sign of how bad a shape he was in.

"We've got a couple of minutes," Emma said. "Talk."

Hook rested his scabbard on the floorboard between his knees. His fingers toyed with the hilt for a few moments before finally releasing it. "It's not something one really discusses in front of a lady."

"Luckily for you, I'm not a lady and you're only a gentleman when it suits you."

His lips quirked up at one side. "Perhaps it suits me to treat you as a lady, whether you appreciate it or not."

"Can it, Hook. I'm not in the mood for your distraction tactics."

"Very well." Hook sighed, and scratched behind his ear, clearly uncomfortable. "Marcus… You see, the thing is… Most of the Lost Boys were taken when they were young and they stayed so. A handful, however, were older, officers for Pan's little army. The younger lads weren't affected, but the older ones had certain… urges, if you get my drift."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Seriously? This is some kind of eternal puberty problem?"

He frowned in consternation, whether at her meaning or at her tone, she couldn't tell. "You asked for the explanation, Swan. I'm telling you the lads could get a trifle problematic as Neverland was somewhat short of female companionship."

Emma bit off another snide remark. "Fine. Being a permanently hormonal sixteen year old… I can see that would be a problem."

"Pan would send them with us on occasion, a reward for them as well as a watchdog for us. Also, I am well versed in the issues inherent in dealing with a group of men, trapped alone for weeks at a time without a woman." He shook his head. "Trust me, love, being in the doldrums, not a breath of wind for days, eventually the crew would start to fight and _then_ -"

"Hook!"

He coughed in embarrassment. "Sorry, love." He shook his head. "Whatever the case, the lad was sent with us. The first few times, there were no problems, other than he was an obnoxious, bossy, demanding git who thought he could order me about on me own ship. I quickly dissuaded him of that notion."

"How many trips did he go on?"

"Hard to say, really. Time does have a tendency to run together at the fifty, sixty year mark. Whatever the case, on one of the supply runs, I heard a rumor that he had been… rough with one of the tavern wenches. I spoke with the lass, and she brushed it off as nothing, but I could tell he had frightened her."

He gritted his teeth. "I should have gutted the lad then and there. I could have made up any number of stories to explain his demise to Pan, but I hesitated."

"You would have killed him?"

Hook attempted a roguish grin, but there was a chilling darkness in his expression. "I wasn't always the easy-going pirate you've come to know and admire."

"Uh huh."

He turned to look out the windshield again, the muscles in his jaw jumping as he clenched his teeth. "With this lad… it wasn't only the lack of companionship. He was older, given more responsibility, and understood the way of things more clearly. Yet, he was trapped as we all were and he was increasingly furious at his lot in life. All of the Boys were predators to one degree or another. But for Marcus… Pan hadn't just made him dangerous. He made him a monster. The lad has a rage inside, such as I've rarely seen."

"I've run into the type," Emma admitted. When she'd first met Hook, she'd feared he _was_ that type.

"Whatever the case, the next trip he took with us, I saw the evidence myself. The lass had injuries no woman should bear, tavern wench or no. Unfortunately, Pan had learned of my distaste for the lad and had warned me in no uncertain terms, that if an accident were to befall his servant, I would be held responsible."

"What did you do?"

"Marcus and I had a very friendly conversation," he answered flatly. "I warned him what I would do if I ever again caught wind of even the slightest hint of scandal amongst the ladies."

Emma didn't like how troubled he appeared. The memories clearly still weighing on him, even though the events he was describing could have taken place a century or two earlier. "You know for the most black-hearted pirate ever to sail the seas, you seem to have been a bit of a softie."

He cocked his head to one side, eyeing her. "I realize it may have escaped your notice, Swan, but I am rather fond of the fairer sex."

Emma snorted. "You don't say."

He attempted a grin, but didn't quite manage it. "Whether a pleasant companion for a night or a mate for life, having a lass at your side is a gift not to be wasted. One never knows when that gift might be gone."

Hook looked away from her, out the side window, lost in an entirely different set of unpleasant memories, and Emma decided to get him back on track. "So what happened with Marcus?"

"I'm sure you can guess, love." He sighed. "He was sent on another supply run, much against my wishes. I ordered one of my crew to follow him while he was ashore. It did little good, nor did my less than subtle threats should he misbehave. He chose a different tavern to frequent that night than the one the lads and I had chosen. Middle of the night, my crewman came to find me…" Hook trailed off. He pursed his lips, seemingly unwilling to even say the words.

"Did he kill her?" Emma asked.

"Sadly… it might have been kinder if he had. The child… and she was little more… had been… brutalized. I…"

Emma took pity. "I get the picture."

"I sincerely doubt that, love. There are scenes that stay in one's mind, no matter how one would like to scrub them from one's memory. I very nearly killed him, consequences be damned, but…," he ran a hand over his face in frustration, "Pan would have killed one of my crew in retaliation. He'd done it before."

Hook seemed freshly exhausted by telling the story. He laid his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. "Once we returned to the island, I informed Pan that Marcus would never step foot on the _Jolly Roger_ again. Had I known he was on board when we left Neverland, I'd have tossed him overboard on the journey back. He knew well enough to hide. I didn't see him until the Lost Boys were disembarking when we reached Storybrooke."

A sudden thought occurred to her. "And you let this kid loose in Storybrooke without telling anyone?"

"We were barely in Storybrooke before the curse was cast that took us all to the Enchanted Forest!" he said defensively. "Once we were there…"

Emma only raised an eyebrow and waited. She'd pulled into an alley close to Ruby's where they had a good field of vision. Hook didn't advise her to do anything else so she assumed Marcus' real quarry was in sight as well.

Hook scratched behind his ear again, his most obvious tell when he was feeling awkward or embarrassed. "I may or may not have paid one of the Queen's guard to… lock him up and throw away the key."

"You what?"

"What was I supposed to do?" he asked, his voice rising. "Wait until he'd… he'd… _defiled_ some other child? I may be trying to be a better man for you, Swan, but I'm a pirate and I've a long history of bribing officials to get things done. Sometimes it's the only way."

Emma drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. "I don't have time to discuss everything that's wrong with that statement, but… official misconduct aside… the guy did deserve to be in jail. That doesn't explain why you didn't tell anyone once you were back."

"Smee and I… we've been watching him. It's my fault he's still breathing, and it's our business to end it."

"And yet you're the one who's been poisoned… and…" She stopped, as another thought occurred to her. "Your wound was more than just poisoned. Does Marcus have magic?"

"No, he's managed to get his hands on some somewhere."

"Just great."

Emma's phone chimed. She looked at it and saw a text from David wanting to know where she was.

"Ok, Hook. Who's the intended victim here? Who are we protecting?"

"I don't know her name. Her mother is a single woman… older… has an entire passel of children. They live there." He pointed through the windshield to an older clapboard home that showed definite signs of wear. "She has a raven-haired daughter who looks to be sixteen or so."

Emma immediately dialed her father. "It's Mrs. Schuman's house," Emma said. "He's after her daughter. You watch the back. I'll-"

"Bloody hell."

Emma turned when she heard the car door open and saw Hook struggling to get out. "Hook, are you crazy?"

" _Emma_?" David demanded. " _What's going on_?"

He stood, using the car door as a crutch. "We're too late, Swan!" He pointed with his hook. "He's already in the bloody house!"

Emma looked where he was pointing and saw a silhouette in the upstairs window, two people, one smaller form struggling to get away from a larger one.

"He's inside," Emma said into the phone. "Upstairs, front of the house, east side."

" _I'll go in through the back_ ," David replied.

Hook let go of the car door and barreled toward the house. Emma had no choice but to follow.

* * *

 _More soon…_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

* * *

Emma jumped out of the car and hurried after Hook. He was bent forward, his arm held closely to his side, nearly staggering. He hadn't bothered to strap on his scabbard. He'd left it behind and had his sword in hand.

"Hook, get back in the car," she ordered. "David and I will handle this."

The look he turned on her was almost feral. "You think I will leave others to deal with this blackguard while I convalesce?" he spat.

His ferocity momentarily stopped her in her tracks. Normally, when Hook spoke to her, he could be any of several things: pleasant, light-hearted, sarcastic, cajoling, flirting, occasionally serious. At this moment, however, she saw the pirate, the deadly, revenge-driven man, scourge of the seas, and uncontested commander of his ship and crew. Walking around modern Storybrooke, still in his leather pirate outfit, he was sometimes a nearly comical figure to her, but looking at him now, even badly injured, she saw he was one thing, _dangerous_.

Emma reached the front door first, but the door was locked. Before she could say anything, Hook had put his hook through the class above the knob. A scream from the second floor had her shoving her hand through the broken glass, fumbling the lock open. She could hear noises from the back of the house and guessed David was kicking in his second door of the day.

Emma drew her gun and led the way inside. It was the cheerful, cluttered, well-used home of a large family, but she barely had time to take it in before they heard another scream which was abruptly cut off.

She and Hook headed for the central staircase which was visible ahead. David joined them from the rear of the house, gun at the ready.

"I found the rest of the family in the back den," he whispered. "Mrs. Schuman looks like she tried to fight him. He barricaded the door to keep them in there."

"You tell them to stay put?" Emma asked and he quickly nodded.

They were all at the foot of the staircase now, poised to go up. It was as old and well-used as the rest of the house and there was no carpeting covering the worn, wooden risers. Emma put her weight on the first step and it creaked loudly under her weight.

Hook grimaced and shook his head in dismay. Emma was reminded of one of their first days in Neverland. He had been directly behind her while they all trudged through the jungle and he'd muttered under his breath the whole time. " _Be bloody lucky to live through the day. People make enough noise to wake the dead. Lost Boys can probably hear them from the other side of the blasted island_."

They'd loudly broken in two doors, so Marcus knew they were in the house, but now thanks to the steps he could pinpoint their position, so it was beyond a lost cause.

"Let the girl go, Marcus!" she shouted up the stairs. "It doesn't have to go this way!"

For several seconds, there was complete silence, other than Hook's labored breathing. Then she heard a quiet shuffling. "A pity you had to get involved, Emma."

Emma tried to put a face to the voice, but she couldn't place it, and she remembered Hook saying he'd hidden on the trip back from Neverland. "I'm the Sheriff, Marcus. I'm going to get involved when someone's attacking women."

"Attack?" Marcus scoffed. "She approached me."

Apparently the girl didn't agree with that assessment. There was another sound of a struggle upstairs, then silence again.

"You've nowhere to go, lad!" Hook called. "It's over!"

Laughter filtered down the stairs, a cold, spine-chilling sound. "Still alive, Captain? Good for you. Our little game has always been a decent way to pass the time."

"This isn't a bloody game," Hook said through clenched teeth.

"Wrong, as usual, Hook." Something came sailing down the stairs and Emma realized it was a hair barrette, a chunk of hair still stuck in it where it had been ripped out. "It's always been a game and, as always, you will lose."

Emma's grip tightened on her gun and she eased upward another stair. It, too, creaked beneath her weight and she stopped.

"Oh, keep coming, Emma. I can take an eye next instead of her hair." Marcus' tone was light, but she could tell he was deadly serious.

Hook nudged her arm, and Emma eased back to the ground floor. In her place, Hook took the first step. "Touch another hair on her head, you little viper, and you'll have me to answer to," he warned.

"Is that so?"

"Pan's not here to intervene anymore."

Marcus laughed again. He had to know Hook was coming up the stairs, and he was allowing it.

"Hook, do you remember our little game with Tink?" He sounded almost wistful. "I miss those days."

"I remember," Hook answered coldly. He took another stair, his sword in hand, using his hook to hold onto the railing. He was bleeding again, drops of blood falling onto the wooden steps. "You toyed with the Lady Bell like a cat with a mouse."

"She was a bit old for my taste, but in Neverland beggars can't be choosers."

"I remember Pan killed one of my crew when I nearly gutted you for attacking her."

"Tink?" Emma asked breathlessly. It was one thing to hear about a stranger being harmed, but she knew Tink. She always seemed so strong, so sure of herself, although she'd been very definite about the dangers of Neverland and of crossing Pan and his followers.

"He stalked her for weeks until she was too scared to sleep." Hook half turned to explain, eyes still focused on the second floor. "He finally knocked her out and took her to a cave he stayed in." Hook grinned viciously. "He missed a knife in her boot. She almost cut his ear off and got away."

"She'll pay for that yet," Marcus spat. "Pan can't protect her now."

Emma raised her eyebrows in question and Hook added, "She traded some of the last of her magic to Pan for his guarantee to control Marcus, at least as far as her welfare was concerned."

Hook was almost at the top of the stairs and Emma could tell when Marcus came into view. Hook stood up straighter, hiding how badly he was hurting. Emma readied herself, and she knew David was doing the same, ready to charge up the steps at a moment's notice.

"There's no way out of here," Hook said lowly. "Let the lass go, and you and I can finish this fight once and for all."

"Maybe I should just kill her," Marcus replied.

Emma tightened her grip on her gun, but Hook just laughed, a chilling sound, devoid of humor. "Where's the fun in that, lad? You enjoyed making them suffer, not ending their suffering."

"I spent years on that island being miserable," Marcus hissed. "Why shouldn't they?"

"You spent all that time under Pan's thumb. You had to show someone who was really in charge, eh? Why not take it out on someone defenseless?"

"You always did talk too much," Marcus snapped.

Emma saw two things happen simultaneously. Marcus must have pushed the girl toward Hook, because she suddenly appeared and stumbled into him. At the same time, Hook raised his sword and just barely managed to block Marcus' own blade.

Without looking, Hook pushed the girl out of the way, down the staircase. Emma was already on her way up, and she did the same, keeping the kid upright and on her way down toward David. She was a mess. Apart from the damage to her hair, her shirt was torn, and Emma could see the new bruising on her face.

Emma reached the top of the stairs, the sounds of clashing swords loud in her ears. The upper floor landing was an open space, large enough to be used as a communal playroom. There were toy chests against the walls and toys were scattered across the floor. The two swordsmen had room to range, but it was a minefield of items to trip on at every step.

It was jarring to see the two fighting and Emma felt old memories of stories of Captain Hook hunting down Lost Boys warring with new knowledge of how things really were. Nevertheless, it still seemed all kinds of wrong to watch a grown man match swords with a rangy kid who looked no more than sixteen.

Emma still couldn't remember ever seeing Marcus before. He was average looking, mousy brown hair, medium height, decent looking, but not enough to be called handsome. He didn't have the muscle mass of an adult, but he definitely had experience with a sword. Emma could tell that the fight was dangerously one-sided. Marcus may have been injured in their earlier brawl, but he was clearly in better shape and Hook was struggling.

Thanks to her unusual upbringing, Emma had learned one thing very early on. You didn't wait to fight fair when someone was trying to hurt one of your friends. It was absolutely ok to gang up on them.

Emma followed their progress across the landing and started forward, but Marcus saw her coming. He grabbed a miniature dollhouse from a nearby table and timed it just right. He brought his sword up so that Hook would have to counter it and then heaved the dollhouse right at his head. Hook tried to get out of the way, but it still caught him in a glancing blow and he toppled to the floor, stunned.

Marcus was on him like a spider crawling across the floor. Marcus put one knee on his back and with his other knee, put his full weight on Hook's forearm, forcing him to release his sword. Marcus released his own, pulled a dagger from his boot and rather than putting it to Hook's neck, put the dagger to his wrist, the wrist of his remaining hand.

Marcus looked up at her, a feral grin in place. "Hi, Emma. Nice of you to stop by."

"Let him go," Emma ordered, her gun pointed directly at his head. If he so much as twitched, she was ready to fire.

"Not until we come to an understanding."

"What do you want?"

Hook was struggling beneath Marcus's weight, but he was too weak to break free. Emma could see the fear plain on his face, his eyes never leaving the dagger that was cutting into the skin of his wrist. There was already dried blood on the blade and Emma guessed it was the poisoned weapon Marcus had used earlier in the day to stab Hook.

"I wasn't really planning on bringing this up tonight, but I've never been one to let an opportunity pass me by."

"What do you _want_?" she asked again.

"I want out of this town," he roared. "This place, it might as well be an island. This tiny, stinking, little hell hole of a town… I can't leave. I can't get away. I want _out_." His blade cut deeper as his anger grew.

"Swan." Hook couldn't look up at her from where he was, but that one breathless word cut her to the quick. She could only imagine the terror of thinking he might lose his other hand.

"Then leave. You can cross the town line any time you want." She wasn't sure if he would lose his memories or not. The Lost Boys hadn't been part of the original curse, but they had been part of the new one. Not that she was going to let him leave town. She had no intention of letting him loose to prey on unsuspecting women.

David had come up during the scuffle. He was at the top of the steps, directly across from her and directly behind Marcus, but that created a definite problem. If either she or David had to fire, the other could easily be caught in the crossfire.

David therefore did what he had to and moved to one side. The movement caught Marcus' attention and he turned just slightly. Emma knew it was her only chance. She dropped her gun, knowing David still had his trained on the kid, and launched herself at him. His eyes widened right before impact. He instinctively tried to bring his dagger up, and thus away from Hook's hand. Emma batted it to the side as she knocked him backward, away from Hook.

Emma's momentum carried them both toward the staircase and once started there was no stopping. Emma reached out wildly, trying to catch her father's outstretched hand or the banister, but her fingers slipped off just as quickly. Her head made direct contact with the wooden spindles on one side of the stairs and after that it was only pain as she and Marcus toppled head over heels in a mass of limbs before thudding to a sudden stop at the bottom.

"Emma!"

She knew she was lying on the floor, but that was all she was sure of.

"Emma, honey, are you all right?"

She blinked repeatedly, trying to clear the spots from her vision. Her father was leaning over her, worry plain on his face.

"You just had the wind knocked out of you. You have to breathe, honey. Nice and easy."

Her chest was hurting from lack of oxygen. Her head was killing her, but more startling was the repeated endearment from her father. Even now, after Neverland, after the new curse, it still shocked her to have someone, a parent, who thought of her that way. And looking at his face, practically the same age as her… How was she ever going to explain all this to Henry? For that matter, _should_ she? Or should she run as far and as fast as she could from the craziness of Storybrooke and take her son with her?

"Marcus?" she managed to croak. She still couldn't move, but she saw her father turn to one side and look at something. "The ambulance is coming. He landed on his dagger. He… it's not good."

That's too bad, Emma thought nastily, thought because she didn't have the breath to say it. As a matter of fact, her vision was fading again.

"Emma?" She heard her father sigh, and then felt him gently run a hand over her hair. "Your mother is going to kill me."

* * *

 _More soon…_


	6. Chapter 6

_A very kind thank you to those who've made it this far. Trying to shoehorn a canon-compliant story into this show was a bit of a bear. Now let's get this little adventure wrapped up so we can all be properly traumatized by tomorrow's episode._

Chapter Six

* * *

Emma's head was killing her. The pills Whale's nurse had given her had taken the edge off all the other bumps and bruises from her tumble down the stairs, but it couldn't stop the pounding in her head.

She sat back in the uncomfortable hospital chair, her eyes closed and her arms crossed. She'd rather have been at home lying down, but she didn't feel like she could leave until Hook was awake. She very purposely chose not to question why that was the case.

Emma heard Hook shifting on the bed and opened her eyes. He was in a hospital gown this time rather than his birthday suit, thank goodness, but she imagined he was going to be ticked when he realized they'd reattached most of the sensors.

Hook's breathing changed slightly, a definite hitch, then faster, his eyes moving rapidly beneath his closed lids. Emma frowned in worry, almost reaching out to wake him, but Hook beat her to it. He went very still and his eyes opened. Emma doubted he even realized she was there as he quickly raised his hand and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Emma didn't want to know exactly what the dream was. She could imagine well enough. The sight of Marcus kneeling over Hook, knife poised to make him a double amputee, would haunt her nightmares as well.

"Your hand is fine," she said quietly, and Hook jumped at the sound of her voice, turning a definite shade of red at being caught. Nevertheless, he continued to tighten and release a fist then rub his fingers together in a circle, reassuring himself they were still there and in working order.

"Well, then," he said, "could've been worse, I suppose."

Emma felt herself getting angry all over again, which did absolutely nothing for her headache. "You suppose?" she said carefully. She stood and walked closer to the bed, her temper rising with each step. She'd had hours now to think through all the worst-case scenarios that could have happened because Hook had kept her in the dark. "If you'd just told us that he was dangerous, we could have been on the lookout as well. You could be dead and Mrs. Schuman's daughter could have been badly hurt or killed and we would have been none the wiser!"

"If you could refrain from shouting at me until I'm no longer lying abed, I would greatly appreciate it, love."

If Emma weren't so annoyed, she would've almost felt bad. Almost. He looked exhausted and miserable and he was wincing when her voice rose. Maybe his head hurt as badly as hers. Good.

"Sorry," she offered, lowering her strident tone.

"I'd almost believe that if you didn't appear quite so gleeful at my discomfort."

"I'm not… gleeful." She tried to alter her expression, then finally just gave up. She looked like whatever she looked.

"Marcus?" Hook asked.

"He landed on his dagger when he fell down the stairs. He died in the ambulance on the way here." Emma couldn't say that she was sorry. He'd been a dangerous predator and now he was gone. Storybrooke had enough problems without adding that sort of violence to the mix.

"Better end than he deserved," Hook muttered. "Can't say I'll lose any sleep over his demise."

"You might not," she bit out, "but Mrs. Schuman's daughter will. She'll need therapy after this."

"Indeed," Hook said, turning his head slightly away from her. "The Cricket…"

"Look-"

He held up his hand to halt the tirade she was fully prepared to unleash. "Forgive me, Swan. Clearly, I was not equipped to fight this battle alone. I'm sorry you were dragged into it, although for the girl's sake, I'm grateful."

That took the wind out of her sails. Emma nearly rolled her eyes at herself. She'd been around Hook too long if she was making nautical references.

"Would you mind," he asked quietly, "telling me why I'm not dead? I was rather expecting to be at this point. Poisoned, magical wounds do have a tendency to get the job done."

"Regina was here," she explained. "Apparently, the magic Marcus used was a potion from her vault. Her security system needs a serious overhaul."

"He always was a light-fingered lad."

"Bit of overkill if you ask me, with the poison and all, but I guess he had to be sure."

"Aye." Hook nodded. "He'd lost to me before. He'd want the job done properly or he knew I'd come for him again."

"Whatever the case, Whale called Regina to ask her about the magic used on you. She felt responsible since the potion was hers, so she brought something to heal you." Mostly after Emma had yelled at her for still having the potion in the first place. Regina had informed her that one didn't simply pour unwanted potions down the sink. That was all they needed, was to have her old potions added to the town water supply. There was no telling what kind of havoc that would cause.

"Regina said your internal injuries will take a little longer, but you should be up and about in no time."

"I see." He once again looked at his hand. The deep cuts were gone from his wrist and he twisted it this way and that making sure. Finally, he looked up at her. "The Evil Queen does nothing for free, even when she's no doubt been lectured by the town savior." Emma opened her mouth to contradict him, but his glare stopped her. He was far too skilled at reading any given situation. "Why was she really here?"

Emma shrugged. "She wants us both at her house this evening. She's got some sort of idea she wants to try, but she needs us to work the… spell or whatever. My parents will be there, too."

"And I needed to be on my feet to be of use to her." He ran his hand over his face tiredly. "That sounds like our caring sovereign. Ever the philanthropist when she needs you alive for one of her plans." Hook's eyes zeroed in on her. "What about you? Did she help you as well?"

Emma shook her head and was immediately sorry. Her head started pounding again. "I'm fine," she said. "They gave me some pills and told me to get some rest."

That was after Regina had made a snarky comment along the lines of, "Sorcerer, heal thyself," before she'd turned on her heel and flounced away. Emma wondered if that was one of the lessons they taught in royalty school, flouncing. Regina seemed to have taken the master class. Whatever the case, there was no way Emma was going to try any sort of healing magic. She was as likely to explode her own head as heal her concussion.

"So… I'm gonna go home," she said. "I guess I'll see you tonight?"

"How can I refuse when Regina has generously kept me in the land of the living?" he replied, definitely heavy on the sarcasm.

"Well, if you'll _tell me what's going on_ next time," she raised an eyebrow, "it will keep these things from happening."

He froze, which she thought was an odd reaction since he'd already admitted he'd been wrong. He looked at her, his gaze traveling from her eyes then to her lips, before skittering away.

Emma almost swore. There was something he wasn't telling her. "Is there something else I need to know?"

"No," he said and it was very definite.

"Hook, I'll kill you _myself_ if I find out-," she began, but he cut her off.

"Swan, I am _exceptionally_ aware of the perils of crossing you or yours." A self-deprecating smile appears on his lips. "I distinctly recall having you hold a dagger to my neck. I also seem to remember being tied to a tree. Let's see," he made a show of ticking the instances off on his fingers, "I remember being bound with a raging giant on the loose. I believe I was shackled to this very bed at one point, and not in a good way." A single raised eyebrow told her how little he appreciated that memory. "Your father has taken great delight in threatening me almost daily. Your mother on the other hand has mastered the art of the glare which is a silent promise of death. It's quite an impressive one, too. I've seen ogres with sweeter expressions."

He was deflecting, Emma knew, and working very hard at it. "Hook-"

He shook his head and sighed. "Never you fear, Swan." His eyes met hers, shining with sincerity. "I would never harm you or your family. I would do everything in my power to keep it from happening."

He wasn't lying. She was certain of it. That was the problem with Hook. He told her the truth, but he did sometimes hide things, whether for her own supposed benefit, or his. He was a pirate, after all, and they did love their buried treasure.

Emma pursed her lips. She had no choice but to let it go, for the time being at least. She had bigger problems, namely Zelena as well as her magic lessons with a teacher who was nearly as scary as the witch they were trying to take down.

"You should go home, love. Standing here to shout at me isn't doing you any favors. I assure you, I am duly chastened."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "Why don't I believe you?"

"I've been told I have an untrustworthy face." He did his best to look downtrodden, but as he'd said, he still looked like he was up to something. "Probably why I've been forced to remain in a life of piracy. It's the only thing left to me."

Emma raised her eyes heavenward, but there was no strength to be had.

"Go, Swan," he urged. "Rest. I'm sure the good doctor will release me forthwith and I will do the same."

Emma nodded, although she still had the niggling feeling there was something else. "I'll come pick you up tonight."

"No need," he said tiredly. "I can find my own way."

He was distancing himself from her, or at the very least just trying to get rid of her and Emma couldn't understand why.

"Off you go, love. Let an old pirate rest." He actually made a shooing motion with his hand.

"Fine." She may or may not have sounded a bit petulant.

"And Emma?"

Her brain came to a halt at his use of her given name. "What?" she managed, cursing her ears for turning pink.

"Thank you."

She nodded. "I'll see you tonight."

* * *

 _It's been a pleasure. Thanks for reading! Now I'm off to get a hankie, because tomorrow's episode… it's gonna be a heartbreaker..._


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